And Then It Was Dark
by AliasCWN
Summary: The Rat Patrol chooses a cave to ride out a storm until Dietrich spots them.
**And Then It Was Dark**

By:AliasCWN

The rain pelted the two American jeeps as they sped across the desert floor ahead of the worst of the storm. Jack Moffitt reached over and tapped his driver on the arm.

Tully Pettigrew glanced over to see Moffitt point toward a path leading into the hills. With a shrug he turned his jeep onto the path. Getting into higher ground seemed like a good decision to him. Moffitt had explained earlier that he had once explored those hills with some Arab friends. Tully hoped that he remembered a good place to shelter from the storm. The way the wind was increasing, he was worried that this was going to be one of those storms you didn't want to let catch you in the open.

The path cut sharply around the hills and wove toward the higher peaks. Rain was coming faster now, severely limiting visibility. Just when it seemed that they were going to have to stop in the open Tully spotted a cave opening ahead. At that same moment Moffitt tapped him on the arm and pointed.

The cave opening wasn't large enough to drive the jeeps inside. Tully resigned himself to sitting in a water logged seat after the storm had passed. Just the thought of getting out of the rain and getting dry was enough for now. He could already picture the cheerful flames of a small fire with the four of them huddled around it sharing a warm meal. The fact that all they had to eat was k-rations couldn't even dampen his mood.

He pulled the jeep to a stop in front of the cave where Moffitt indicated. Grabbing a flashlight and a rifle, he ran for the cave. Moffitt, Hitch and Troy were right behind him.

"Whoo-ee! That is one nasty storm." Tully began to inspect the cavern using the flashlight. He kept his rifle ready but it proved unnecessary. The cave was empty except for the four of them.

"I'm afraid that it's not quite over yet Tully. I suspect that the worst is yet to come." Moffitt watched as Tully checked out the interior of the cave. "Sometimes these things pass quickly while other times they can last for hours. This one has all the appearances of being one of the long ones."

"Well at least we're out of the rain. We can build a fire and get dry." Sam Troy checked his watch, squinting to make out the time in the gloom from the storm. "We'll stay here for the night and head home in the morning."

Tully handed Troy the flashlight and rifle. "I'll go get us some supplies and blankets. Once they're dry we can really get comfortable."

"I'll go with you Tully." Mark Hitchcock followed him back out into the storm. Since they were already soaked, they took their time and made sure that they had everything they needed. Neither one wanted to have to come back out once they were dry.

By the time they reentered the cave the sergeants had a nice little fire going.

Tully piled their k-rations near the back of the cave out of their way. Hitch draped the blankets over some rocks near the fire to dry. Moffitt took one of the canteens and started to heat water for coffee and tea. The rations were heated and they ate them while their clothes dried although none of them would have gone so far as to say they enjoyed them.

The rain was still coming down hard as they found their blankets and settled for the night. Hitch took first watch while the others slept.

Morning found Troy on guard duty. The soft snores of the others in the cave was audible now that the rain had stopped. The wind no longer whistled through the entrance. Troy loved the sunrises in the desert. The rain settled the dust until the sun came out and the air seemed clearer. He heard the others stirring and then there was the distinct smell of coffee in the air. Tully brought him a cup as he stood guard.

"Get everything packed and ready to go. We'll give the sun a chance to dry the sand a bit before we pull out."

"Sure Sarge. I have breakfast cooking, it will be ready pretty soon." The lanky Kentuckian headed back into the cave to check on the food.

Hitch refueled the jeeps and checked the radiators while he waited for Tully to tell them breakfast was ready. Moffitt joined Troy and they discussed the plans for the day as Moffitt enjoyed his tea. Hitch passed them on his way back inside.

"Pack up the bedding and supplies. Tully's busy cooking."

"Right Sarge." Popping a bubble, he ducked back into the cave and began to gather the supplies into a bundle. He placed them next to the rations so everything would be together when they went to pack them into the jeeps.

A slight rumble drew Troys attention to the desert floor. Around the curve in the path leading to the cave lumbered a string of halftracks. The early morning breeze had carried the sound away from the hills allowing them to approach unheard.

Troy turned to yell just as the first shell hit the dirt above the cave entrance. Moffitt dashed past him toward the jeeps. Troy watched in horror as the dirt above the opening let loose in a monstrous rockslide. Dirt and boulders the size of cars slid down to fill the opening. There was a huge pile of mud and rocks where the cave entrance had been only moments ago. A second shell hit near the jeeps. Troy stared at the pile of sand and stone. More dirt slid down as the concussions shook the ground.

"Troy! We have to go. They're going to cut us to pieces if we stay. There's nothing we can do for them now." Troy threw one last look toward the cave and ran for the jeep. He hit the starter and stomped on the gas as the little vehicle clawed at the dirt under the tires. They lurched forward and disappeared around a curve in the path effectively blocking them from the view of the Germans. Moffitt kept his own jeep right behind Troy, racing for their lives.

The halftracks rattled their way along the path to the hills. Capt. Has Dietrich rode in the third one talking to his lieutenant. The first two were making good time and their drivers seemed to know where they were going. He was relaxed, confident that no Allied eyes had spotted his column as it made its way across the desert.

The shot from the lead halftrack shattered that feeling of well-being. Grabbing the field glasses that hung around his neck, Dietrich tried to spot whatever it was his men had deemed a threat. He caught one very brief glimpse of two American jeeps rounding a turn and disappearing over the hill. The identity of the occupants was clear the moment he spotted the 50 caliber machine guns mounted on the back. Cursing his luck, he reached for a radio to order the lead halftrack to pick up speed. They had to reach the base before the Americans could call in reinforcements. His men went on high alert at the mere thought of those two jeeps even being in the vicinity of the column.

The halftracks rumbled past the rockslide without giving it a second glance. The heavy vehicles pushed some of the smaller boulders out of the way to clear a path for the column. All eyes were on the horizon expecting to see two tiny jeeps jump out at them raining lead on their slower vehicles. To the surprise of the Germans, the column continued on its way without any difficulties. Dietrich worried all the way, wondering why the Rat Patrol didn't attack.

Sam Troy called a halt after traveling a circular path around the hills. The halftracks had hurried off in the direction of their base without bothering to give chase.

"Moffitt, you know these hills. Is there another way into that cave?"

Jack Moffitt shook his head sadly. "As far as I know, there was only one way in and one way out." He stared in the direction of the cave in question. "I never really explored that particular cave but I was in quite a few of them in this region. All were small, like that one, and none of them had more than one entrance. Besides, we looked around pretty good when we first arrived, I only saw one entrance."

"There were some passages in the back that we didn't explore last night." Troy remembered thinking that they might have time in the morning to check them out. That was before Dietrich and his column had changed everything.

"They were small and tight Troy. Hitch and Tully wouldn't be able to crawl through them." He hesitated before he continued. "We don't even know if they survived the cave-in."

Troy glared at him for suggesting the worst.

"We need to go back and check on them. It looked like Dietrichs column went right on past without stopping."

"Maybe they didn't know about the cave. From what I saw, there was no evidence of any opening after the rockslide."

Troys face took on a desperate expression. "Let's shake it."

The two sergents parked their jeeps in the same place they had been parked the night before. The hill had stopped sliding down in front of the cave entrance. Moffitt did not trust the water logged dirt and told Troy that it was still unstable. Troy ignored him and climbed among the rocks, looking for any sign of the entrance.

"Hitch! Tully!" There was no answer. "Hitch! Tully!" The cry echoed back at them but there was no answering echo. Troy began digging frantically with his bae hands.

Moffitt joined him in the rockslide and handed him one of the shovels from the jeeps. They worked wordlessly, throwing dirt in every direction. All they managed to do was make more room for more dirt to slide down into the holes they dug. Exhausted, they paused to catch their breath.

"It's no use Troy. We can't do it. There's no way we can dig them out by hand. We need help." Moffitt tried to reason with the other man.

"That will take time. What if they don't have that time? What if they don't have enough air?"

"We're not helping them this way Sam! All we're doing is moving the dirt around. We haven't made any progress at all in all the time we've been digging."

"So what do you want to do? We can't just give up!"

"Not at all Sam." Moffitt shook his head tiredly. "I'm just suggesting that we go back to the base and try to find help."

"The Colonel isn't going to authorize a rescue for just two men. Not behind enemy lines."

"Sam, we have no choice. We need help." Moffitt eyed the rockslide critically.

Troy was gasping for breath as he surveyed their progress. He hated to admit defeat, but he could see what Moffitt meant. As he watched, more dirt slid into the hole at his feet. He closed his eyes and prayed for strength. Then he murmured a little prayer for his two men. "Alright Doctor, we'll do it your way. We'll see if we can get some help from the base." He paused to eye the other man. "But if the Colonel says no, I'm coming back anyway."

"And I will be right beside you." The Englishman answered. "I don't want to leave them any more than you do but it's the only way."

Troy nodded, satisfied. "Okay, let's go. It's a long way back to our lines."

Moffitt hefted his shovel and followed Troy back to the jeeps.

I'm sorry Troy. I can't authorize a rescue team to go that far behind German lines to rescue just two men. You're asking for heavy equipment. The Germans would love to get their hands on some of that stuff." The Colonel paced his office, trying to figure out some way he could help. He wanted to send a rescue team. After all, the Rat Patrol was the best commando team he'd ever had at his disposal. He'd grown sort of fond of them personally and felt their loss deeply.

"Then let us go back and try to get them out Sir." Troy was resigned to doing the job alone.

"I can't do that either Sargent." The Colonel couldn't refuse to help completely. He needed to offer some sort of support.

Troy took a breath to start to object but the Colonel silenced him with a wave of his hand.

"I'm going to let you ask around for volunteers. Take one truck and fill it with all the volunteers and equipment that you can carry. I'm sorry I can't give you any more. I suggest that you pick men who know something about how to use the equipment. Take Andy Peterson and find another driver. You have two days Sargent. If you haven't found them by then, you bring my men and equipment back. Do you understand Sargent?"

Troy nodded gratefully. "Thank you Sir. We want to leave as soon as possible."

The Colonel nodded his understanding. "Corporal Stiner!" The Colonels clerk stuck his head in the door. "Give Sargent Troy a requisition for a truck and all the digging supplies he can pack in it." The clerk nodded and ducked back out into the outer office. "Good luck gentlemen. And remember, two days."

The sergeants hurried to the outer office to pick up their requisition authorization. Corporal Stiner had the orders ready in a matter of moments, having heard most of the conversation that had taken place in the Colonels office.

Moffitt took the papers and headed to the motor pool to pick up the truck. Troy went to find volunteers to help with the digging.

The volunteers were waiting when Moffitt returned with the truck and equipment. They had started showing up as soon as the word had gotten out about the mission. He actually had more men than he could fit in the truck. He was in the process of choosing the ones who would go when Pvt. Bernie Walker arrived with another soldier in tow. Bernie was a good friend of Mark Hitchcocks. Troy saw them coming and began shaking his head. Bernie was a little guy who tired easily, especially after he had contracted a deadly form of influenza that had spread through the camp.

"I'm sorry Bernie, but we already have all the volunteers we can use. Thanks anyway."

"That's okay Sarge. I have duty anyway. I couldn't get off to go with you."

"Just here to wish us luck?" Moffitt ask in confusion.

"No Sargent. I want you to take Stan here." He indicated his buddy.

"We can't Bernie, we're full." Troy protested. "Like I said, thanks anyway."

"You don't understand Sarge." Bernie argued. "Stan knows a lot about blasting. He did it for a living before he got drafted. If you can't dig them out, maybe Stan can blast them out."

Troy and Moffitt both stopped what they were doing to stare at Bernie.

"Bernie," Moffitt spoke gently," the cave is very small. Blasting could kill them before we rescue them."

"Not the way Stan does it." Bernie shook his head stubbornly. "He can drop a building without breaking the glass in the house next door."

Troy turned to study Stan. "Is that true?"

Stan nodded solemnly. "My family has been blasting for four generations. We've gotten pretty good at it."

"So you can move that rock without killing everyone inside?" Troy wasn't convinced.

"Can't guarantee that Sargent." Stan smiled as Troy drew back, disappointed. "Since we don't know for sure where they are, all I can say for sure is that I won't throw anymore rocks their way. If they're under that rock, all bets are off."

Moffitt watched Stan explain his position. He saw a great deal of confidence in the private as he spoke to Troy. So when Troy sent a questioning glance his way, he nodded.

"Okay Bernie, we'll take Stan. Thanks."

"Thank you Sargent. This was the only way I could think to help Hitch. I owe him. I know you want to get going so I'll get out of your way. Good luck." Bernie stepped back as they finished loading the truck. He was still watching and waving as the two jeeps and the truck drove out of the camp.

"Hitch!... Hitch!"

"Yeah." The breathless answer was followed by a bout off coughing.

"You okay?" Tully picked himself up off the ground and fumbled for the flashlight he had tucked into his back pocket just before the shell hit.

"I think so." Hitch answered before giving in to another round of coughing. "I'd be better if I could move."

Tullys hand found the flashlight and he flicked the switch. Nothing happened.

"I'll be right there. I'll see what I can do."

"That something they…teach you….in…..Kentucky?" Hitch coughed between words.

"What's that?" Tully tried to keep the blond talking so he could follow the voice to his buddy.

"Seeing in the dark?"

Tully laughed as he banged the flashlight against his leg and the light came on. He pointed the beam toward the sound of Hitchs' voice and the smile froze on his face. The blond was almost completely buried in loose gravel and rocks. It was no wonder he couldn't move. Tully dropped to his side and began digging.

"Better?"

Hitch nodded as he took a deep breath. "Yeah, it was hard to breathe for a while there. Thanks Tully."

"Are you sure you're alright?" Tully ran the flashlight beam up and down his friends body looking for injuries. There were cuts on his face and hands and Tully was sure that there were more than a few bruises.

"Yeah, I'm okay now. I sure don't ever want to be buried alive. I didn't think I was claustrophobic but it was hard not to lose it when I woke up under all that dirt."

Tully handed Hitch one of the canteens he'd retrieved from the back of the cave. The blond took a few swallows before handing it back.

"At least we won't die of thirst." He nodded to the pile of canteens lying along the wall of the cave.

"Or starve." Tully added, pointing at the box of k-rations he had placed there the night before.

"Or freeze." Hitch pointed at the pile of bedrolls next to the food.

The two friends exchanged grins in the light of the flashlight. Neither one of them mentioned another necessity that they couldn't stockpile, air.

"I'd better turn the flashlight off to save the battery."

"Yeah, wouldn't want to get caught in the dark with a dead battery." Hitch grinned again in the dark. "Hey Tully?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think that Sarge and Moffitt made it out okay?"

Tully considered his answer carefully before replying. "If anyone could, it's them. You know what Sarge always says."

"Yeah I know. We make our own luck." Hitch got quiet and Tully thought he was done talking. "I hope they made it." Tully nodded even though he knew Hitch couldn't see it. "Do you think that we should try to dig ourselves out?"

Tully shook his head again, forgetting that Hitch couldn't see him. "We could start another cave-in if we start messing with that dirt. I think we should wait for Doc and Sarge to figure it out. Doc knows more about this type of dirt than anyone else I know."

This time Hitch nodded in the dark. "Okay. Maybe we should just try to sleep. All that weight on me wore me out just trying to breathe."

Tully listened to the blond scramble around for the bedrolls. He didn't know what he would do if Hitch had any type of internal injury. Hoping for the best, he curled up next to his friend and tried to get some more rest.

When Tully opened his eyes it was pitch dark. He took a minute to remember where he was. The sound of Hitch breathing nearby was the only sound. As he listened he realized that the breathing was too rapid for someone who was asleep.

"You okay Hitch?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Is this what it's like being blind? I mean, could you imagine living your whole life in the dark like this?"

Tully shrugged. "Some folks do it. I guess if you don't have any choice, you just have to adapt."

The blond sat in silence for a while. Tully wondered if he had gone back to sleep.

"When I was in school, there was this blind kid in one of my classes. He did everything we did, except that he had someone to copy the notes off the blackboard for him. During class he took his own notes in that dot system that the blind use. Braille I think they call it."

"Must have been hard for him." Tully mused.

"Yeah, I guess it was. I just never really thought about how hard it was for him until now. He made it look so easy." Hitch paused in thought. "You know, if we get out of this, and I ever run into that guy again, I'm going to tell him how much I admire him."

"I bet he'd appreciate that."

"I guess it's times like this that make you realize how much you take for granted every day. You know. We should tell Sarge and Doc how much we appreciate them. We're lucky we got assigned to this outfit." Hitch was sounding tired again despite having just woken from a nap.

"Yeah, let's do that." Tully agreed.

"Do they have caves in Kentucky?"

"Yeah, some. Why?"

"I hear they have some big ones along the East Coast. Some of them have been made into bomb shelters. I don't think they have ever used them for that though."

"I hope they never need them either." Tully added.

The volunteers wasted no time in leaping from the truck the moment they rolled to a stop. Grabbing shovels, they were more than willing to start moving the dirt of the rockslide. Troy and Moffitt were about to show them where to start when Stan interrupted.

"That ground is unstable Sargent. See how the dirt still trickles down every time you move something? All you're going to do is start another rockslide. Maybe catch some of these guys in it this time."

The sargents paused at his explanation.

"We tried digging earlier. It just filled back in." Moffitt told him.

"Exactly. The ground is all loose now. It will take it weeks to settle fully."

"We don't have weeks. We have two days at most. Hitch and Tully may not have that long. We don't know if they have enough air. They may be hurt." Troys exasperation was clear. "We have to dig now."

"Maybe Sargent, maybe. May I look around first?"

Troy looked at Moffitt who nodded.

"Alright, but don't take too long." Troy warned.

Stan nodded and began to walk slowly around the slide. Moffitt followed him around answering any questions he had concerning the cave or the rock formations. This information fell under another of the Englishmans' areas of expertise. The two of them covered every inch of the area, talking animatedly at times. Troy waited impatiently, willing them to hurry.

"I believe I have a solution Sargent." Stan announced when he returned to the truck. "I can blast most of the rocks and dirt away from the entrance of the cave. I won't clear it all but I can move a lot of the dirt so you won't have to do as much digging."

"Won't it cause another cave-in?"

Stan shook his head. "The force of the blast will be out, throwing the rocks away from the entrance. Some of the dirt from above will roll down but it will have room to roll away from the entrance instead of just blocking it. We can move most of the big stuff and a lot of the loose stuff. Once we do that, we can reassess the situation. A second blast may be needed."

Troy studied the man before him. There was a look of confidence about him that lacked any arrogance. His calm demeanor was reassuring to Troy.

"Jack, I won't make this decision alone. This is a team decision. What do you think?"

"I believe it is worth a try Sam. I don't think all of us working together could dig through this mess in two days using only shovels."

"Okay." Troy agreed. "We'll give your way a try. I hope you know what you're doing."

Stan smiled at the sergeants. "Lead me to the explosives. I'll get the charges set. With a little luck Sargent, you're guys will be out by tonight."

"We make our own luck Stan, so why don't you go make us some of the good kind."

Stan nodded and followed Moffitt to their cache of explosives.

Mark Hitchcock opened his eyes. He hadn't planned on going to sleep. He really shouldn't have been sleepy. That's all they'd done since the cave-in. The air felt heavy now, thicker, harder to breathe. His head was starting to ache for no apparent reason. "Tully…hey Tully"

Tully stirred next to him. He couldn't see him but he could feel him moving as he bumped into his leg. "What is it?"

"It's getting hard to breathe."

Tully didn't answer. There wasn't much he could say. He shook his head to clear it. He'd developed a headache too.

"We need to find a way to get some air. Do you think one of those passages in the back would open to the outside?"

Tully tried to clear his thoughts. "If they went anywhere we would already have air. I don't think we can count on that."

Maybe there is something blocking the air." Hitchs' words were starting to slur. His speech was getting slow.

"Stay awake buddy. Sarge will get us out of here."

"Yeah, I know. I'm just getting really tired and I just woke up."

"Maybe you need a drink." Tully reached for a canteen. His arms felt heavy and his coordination seemed off.

Hitch took the canteen but it slipped from his fingers. He seemed to be having trouble holding it too. Tully set the flashlight on the ground to help Hitch hold the canteen.

"Hey Tully, you didn't tell me the roof fell on you too."

"What are you talking about?" Tully was confused at the sudden change of topic.

"Your helmet. It's got a new dent in it."

Tully looked down at his steel helmet to notice a huge dent that hadn't been there before. "I guess I didn't notice. The helmet must have saved me from an even worse headache."

"Good thing we have hard heads." Hitch sighed.

Tully chuckled. " You probably broke the rocks that landed on your head."

Now Hitch laughed. "Maybe we could bust out of here using our heads. Sarge always said we were hard headed."

"Let's just hope Sarge uses his head. Something tells me we're going to need all the help we can get."

Hitch sobered immediately. "Sarge and Doc are out there. They'll get us out.

The blast was loud. Rocks flew through the air raining down onto the trail. Troy was glad they had decided to move the vehicles further away. Dust formed a gigantic cloud that Troy feared would alert the Germans. Troy and Moffitt waited impatiently for the dust to settle so they could check to see how well the blast had worked. As the air cleared they hurried to the landslide.

Troy was disappointed. The cave entrance was still buried. Some of the dirt was gone but there was still too much to move quickly. Stan strolled over to examine the results. "Not bad. Not bad at all." He began to walk the entire area again, pushing on the rocks and poking at the loose gravel.

The volunteers stood, shovels ready, and watched him make his way around the hill.

"One more blast Sargent and you can begin digging." Stan faced the sergents and smiled at their discouraged expressions. "I told you it might take more than one charge. The next one will be smaller. We don't want to bring down the whole mountain."

Troy stared at him in amazement. Moffitt watched Stan return to the jeep and begin building his next charge.

"Jack?"

"He did move a lot of dirt Sam."

Troy didn't answer. He was too busy praying that he hadn't made a mistake. He'd never considered himself a religious man but the war had him rethinking his faith. He figured that it couldn't hurt to have someone powerful looking out for them. Glancing at the sky, he sent a silent prayer for the safety of his men to anyone who wanted to listen.

The second blast cleared most to the dirt from the entrance to the cave. There was still no sign of the opening but Moffitt decided that they wouldn't have far to dig to find it. He showed the volunteers where to dig while he and Stan watched the hill above them for warnings of any more slides. The dirt above the cave seemed more stable now that they have moved the loose stuff away.

Dirt flew as two dozen volunteers frantically worked the shovels.

"Hey Sarge!"

Troy stopped digging to look for the speaker.

"I think we found something."

Troy leaped for the spot that was indicated. As he got closer he could see where the loose gravel was trickling into a hole near their feet like sand through an hour glass. With Troy helping, they soon enlarged the hole to where they thought a man could crawl through.

"Tully! Hitch!" There was no answer. "Tully!" Troy listened for any sound, getting his ear near the hole. "Hitch!" When there was still no reply he attacked the dirt with a renewed sense of urgency.

"Sarge, let me go in." One of the volunteers, a short, wiry private grabbed Troys arm. "I'm smaller, I can get through better."

Troy wanted to refuse. He wanted to get to his men.

"We'll keep digging Sam. If we let Jonsey go in first, maybe he can get to them while we make the hole bigger. It'll be faster that way." It was the argument from Moffitt that was the deciding factor for Troy. He pulled back and let the smaller man squeeze into the hole they had opened. Someone handed the little man a flashlight just before he disappeared under the ground. Taking a breath, he nodded at the others and ducked into the darkness of the cavern.

The first thing he noticed was the stale smell of the air. The fresh air coming in behind him felt cold on his sweaty skin. He made his way carefully to the floor of the cave. Panning his flashlight beam around the cave, he searched anxiously for the two missing men. His sigh of relief when he spotted them turned to concern when they failed to react to the light. Both privates were lying on their sides, completely still.

"Can you see them?"

"Yeah Sarge, I see them." He hurried to their side, not elaborating for those above. The sound of frantic digging echoed through the cavern.

"Hey." Jonsey shook first one private and then the other. At first, neither responded. Then gradually they began to stir. Tully woke up first, then Hitchcock. Both seemed a bit disoriented at first. Jonsey tried to get them to drink some water. Little by little they came around until they finally recognized him. With a big smile he rose and walked back to the entrance.

"They're okay Sarge. A little woozy from the bad air, but they're okay now."

A cheer went up outside without any letup in the digging. Soon they had a hole big enough to help the unsteady men through. Hitchcock and Pettigrew were helped out into the waiting arms of their sergents.

"Hey Sarge."

"Hey yourself Hitch. How's it going?" Troy smiled at his drivers obvious confusion.

"Okay Sarge. Tully said you'd be back."

"Of course we came back. We only left to get help." Troy was hurt that his men might doubt him.

"Yeah." Hitch continued as if Troy had not said anything. "Tully said you'd come back. You left all your k-rations in the cave."


End file.
